This is a record keeping killer. Every transaction would require a paper trail and a determination of capital gain or loss. If sustained, this ruling would kill bitcoins for everyday use in the US.
It may not apply in a trade, where you exchange Btc for a good or service of equal value. You will have to keep up with your basis and/or expenses if you sell/cash out for FRNs, as with any asset such as equities and etc. I'm no tax expert by any means however.
>>This is a record keeping killer. Every transaction would require a paper trail and a determination of capital gain or loss. If sustained, this ruling would kill bitcoins for everyday use in the US.<<
And the IRS is going to want you to do annual accounting on your holdings.
All the transactions are in the chain, no need for any other records. Someone will write some simple software to capture taxable events and that will speed corporate adoption.